Bush viewed as natural heir to Reagan's political legacy
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Posted on 06/06/2004 9:28:04 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
WASHINGTON - President Bush followed his father into the White House, but his political role model is another president - Ronald Reagan.
Bush rarely talks about his father's influence on his political views, but he has been outspoken in his praise of the 40th president. Reagan's death Saturday renewed talk that Bush is the natural heir to Reagan's political legacy.
Both pushed tax cuts while boosting defense spending - a combination that led to record deficits in both presidencies. Both set out to destroy an ideological enemy. In Reagan's case, it was communism. Now it's terrorism.
Both were able to unite conservative Christians and traditional economic conservatives in the Republican Party. Both cast themselves as westerners. Photos of Reagan on horseback at his California ranch were as common in the 1980s as photos today of Bush clearing brush in a cowboy hat or driving through his ranch in a pickup.
And, without mentioning Reagan by name, Bush seldom misses a chance to tell Americans that he shares the former president's optimism.
"I want to rededicate American policy to Ronald Reagan's vision of optimism, modesty and resolve," Bush said in March 2001, at a christening ceremony for the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier. "The future, he proclaimed, belongs to the free."
(Excerpt) Read more at realcities.com ...
Ping..
G'evening, good buddy.
I wish with all my heart that I could make either the California or DC ceremonies for Ronald Reagan.
We shall be there in spirit.
Nobody who would say something like that would have advocated the "free" pill vote-buying scam. Or the assault on the First Amendment that Bush signed. Or myriad other Big Stupid Government-enhancing measures he's approved. Reagan probably wouldn't have given all the federal parasites another paid holiday this coming Friday just because he died, either.
So no, Bush doesn't carry forward the Reagan legacy.
But Russia still has all of those missiles and that makes them a dangerous opponent in any case.
Nonetheless, I believe the worst threat as far as a communist empire is concerned, both economically and ultiamtely militarily, is now the PRC.
Amen, Jeff.
I loved Ron Reagan. I have told people for 25 years that I am a Ronald Reagan Republican. And, I certainly would not want to "dance on his grave" for political expediency but, if somehow, the Bush/Cheney Campaign could find a tasteful way to publicly proclaim GW as the heir apparent to the Reagan legacy; it certainly would not hurt him on November 2.
I love my POTUSes... Ronny, GHWB & Dubya!
bump!
Agree.
As far as I can tell, Bush has no vision. He'd be better than Kerry, but not by much.
During this week of coast to coast memorials to a great American, lets not forget there is only one Ronald Reagan. And PresBush would be the last one to say, he's the second coming of The Gipper. On the policy front, Bush43 has followed Reagan's gameplan in advancing strong support for military defense, across the board income tax cuts and support for pro-life issue.
It would have been nice to have Reagan around campaigning for the President. It's gonna be a tough road to victory.
Yikes! What was I thinking? ;-)
Hiya, my friend.
That's a very good way of putting it. Bush copes with events that befall him, but he has no guiding "vision thing", like Reagan did, and his father didn't.
Neither Bush had any inclination to even whittle, much less slash, Big Stupid Government.
Forgive my ignorance but I've been visiting this site for a year and a half and I do not know what "Ping" and "bump" are supposed to mean.
Can somene help the boy out?
read later bump
You have Freepmail :-)
His religious beliefs were Lincolnesque in many ways. He was not a church goer, not openly religious, but he had a deeply felt sense of the Almighty and knew when to wield the Almighty's name and spirit.
There is a reason why the current Republican party does not have the broad appeal Reagan's did....most of that reason is the man himself, but also the broad based appeal of the message.
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